Quote:a 79 yo man who has 450k that he has to live on and invest with. He'll need to get income from the money, but also he'll want it to grow

Secure your minimum income requirements and grow the rest.

If for instance you have a pension of $15K, live in your own home that's worth $300K that you might otherwise have had to pay $15K/year to rent, and can live off $30K disposable income then :

Initially allocate $150K out of $450K invested in a ten year TIPS ladder with a view to drawing that down over 10 years ($15K/year) $300K remainder invested in stocks on a growth basis (reinvest dividends).

After 10 years if the stocks have grown by 50% in inflation adjusted terms (around 4.1% annualised real) you'll have the equivalent of $450K in stocks (in inflation adjusted terms), but have drawn down bonds to zero.

Reset/repeat for another 10 years ....

With $15K/year bond drawdown, another $15K of imputed rent from your home value, and another $15K of pension, that's like having a $45K/year net wage, but spending a third of that on renting a roof over your head (home). Income being sourced from a pension and drawdown of TIPS is safe against inflation and consistent/stable (assuming a inflation linked pension).

The main risk is longevity (stocks not having grown adequately enough after 10 years). But equally they might grow quicker than the target 4.1% annualised real rate (its not impossible for stocks to gain 50% in inflation adjusted terms in a single year or two).